Have an archive mailbox. This allows the Managed Folder Assistant to offload older items through an Exchange Online mailbox retention policy.
Are on litigation hold. As Exchange Online won’t allow an administrator to put a shared mailbox on litigation hold, this implies that the mailbox originally belonged to a user before conversion to a shared mailbox. Organizations sometimes preserve the mailboxes of ex-employees by converting them into shared mailboxes. In many cases, making the mailboxes inactive is a better choice.
In these cases, Microsoft requires the shared mailbox to have an Exchange Online Plan 2 license, which you can assign in the Microsoft 365 admin center or with PowerShell. If you don’t have an Exchange Online Plan 2 license, you can also use a license like Office 365 E3 that contains the Exchange Online Plan 2 service plan. In effect, you assign the license to the Azure AD account that Exchange Online creates automatically for the shared mailbox. Azure AD doesn’t disable the account and it works like other Azure AD accounts, but you should never sign into it.
For instance, to assign an Office 365 E3 license to a shared mailbox, you could run these commands:
Microsoft doesn’t actively block shared mailboxes that breach the licensing conditions. However, it’s a good idea to make sure that all the shared mailboxes in a tenant have licenses when required. The shared mailboxes section in the Microsoft 365 admin center gives no hint of when mailboxes need licenses, but some processing with PowerShell should do the trick.
The steps seem easy enough:
Find all shared mailboxes.
Check each mailbox to see if it has an archive, exceeds 50 GB, or is on litigation hold.
Check the mailbox’s account to see if it has an Exchange Online Plan 2 license.
Write-Host ("Processing mailbox {0} ({1} of {2})" -f $M.DisplayName, $i, $Mbx.count)
$NeedsLicense = $False; $ArchiveStatus = $Null; $ExoArchiveLicense = $False; $ExoPlan2License = $False; $LicenseStatus = "OK"; $ArchiveStats = $Null
$MailboxOverSize = $False; $ExoPlan1License = $False; $ArchiveMbxSize = $Null
$MbxStats = Get-ExoMailboxStatistics -Identity $M.ExternalDirectoryObjectId
$MbxSize = [math]::Round(($MbxStats.TotalItemSize.Value.toBytes() / 1GB),5)
If ($M.ArchiveStatus -ne "None") { #Mailbox has an archive
$ArchiveStats = Get-ExoMailboxStatistics -Archive -Identity $M.ExternalDirectoryObjectId
If ($ArchiveStats) {
$ArchiveMbxSize = [math]::Round(($ArchiveStats.TotalItemSize.Value.toBytes() / 1GB),5)}
}
$Licenses = Get-MgUserLicenseDetail -UserId $M.ExternalDirectoryObjectId | Select-Object -ExpandProperty ServicePlans | Where-Object {$_.ProvisioningStatus -eq "Success"} | Sort ServicePlanId -Unique
If ($Licenses) { # The mailbox has some licenses
If ($ExoArchiveAddOn -in $Licenses.ServicePlanId) { $ExoArchiveLicense = $True }
If ($ExoPlan2 -in $Licenses.ServicePlanId) { $ExoPlan2License = $True }
If ($ExoPlan1 -in $Licenses.ServicePlanId) { $ExpPlan1License = $True }
}
# Mailbox has an archive and it doesn't have an Exchange Online Plan 2 license, unless it has Exchange Online Plan 1 and the
# archive add-on
If ($M.ArchiveStatus -eq "Active") {
If ($ExoPlan2License -eq $False) { $NeedsLicense = $True }
If ($ExoPlan1License -eq $True -and $ExoArchiveLicense -eq $True) { $NeedsLicense = $False }
}
# Mailbox is on litigation hold and it doesn't have an Exchange Online Plan 2 license
If ($M.LitigationHoldEnabled -eq $True -and $ExoPlan2License -eq $False) { $NeedsLicense = $True }
# Mailbox is over the 50GB limit for unlicensed shared mailboxes
If ($MbxStats.TotalItemSize.value -gt $MailboxLimit) { # Exceeds mailbox size for unlicensed shared mailboxes
$MailboxOverSize = $True
$NeedsLicense = $True}
Analyzing the Outcome
The code is rough and ready but serves its purpose (which is always a good state for a PowerShell script to be in). At the end of the processing, the script generates some basic statistics, including highlighting any shared mailboxes it thinks need licenses together with the reason why (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Detecting if a shared mailbox license is needed
Figure 2 shows the kind of information the script gathers for the shared mailboxes. In this case, I had assigned a license to one of the two mailboxes highlighted in Figure 1, so only one mailbox shows up as still needing a license.
Figure 2: Statistics for shared mailbox licenses
Shared Mailboxes Don’t Need Much Attention
Usually, shared mailboxes don’t need much attention. They function like they’ve always functioned because Microsoft hasn’t changed their functionality much over the past few years. However, some shared mailboxes might need licenses. It’s best to find and rectify the issue before you run into problems. Unlicensed shared mailboxes that exceed their 50 GB allocation can’t send any new emails until they receive a license and will eventually stop receiving inbound messages. That’s a sad situation to be in!
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I tried this script and got below error:
Get-MgUserLicenseDetail : The term ‘Get-MgUserLicenseDetail’ is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try
again.
{"id":null,"mode":"button","open_style":"in_modal","currency_code":"EUR","currency_symbol":"\u20ac","currency_type":"decimal","blank_flag_url":"https:\/\/office365itpros.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/tip-jar-wp\/\/assets\/images\/flags\/blank.gif","flag_sprite_url":"https:\/\/office365itpros.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/tip-jar-wp\/\/assets\/images\/flags\/flags.png","default_amount":100,"top_media_type":"featured_image","featured_image_url":"https:\/\/office365itpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/cover-141x200.jpg","featured_embed":"","header_media":null,"file_download_attachment_data":null,"recurring_options_enabled":true,"recurring_options":{"never":{"selected":true,"after_output":"One time only"},"weekly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every week"},"monthly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every month"},"yearly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every year"}},"strings":{"current_user_email":"","current_user_name":"","link_text":"Virtual Tip Jar","complete_payment_button_error_text":"Check info and try again","payment_verb":"Pay","payment_request_label":"Office 365 for IT Pros","form_has_an_error":"Please check and fix the errors above","general_server_error":"Something isn't working right at the moment. Please try again.","form_title":"Office 365 for IT Pros","form_subtitle":null,"currency_search_text":"Country or Currency here","other_payment_option":"Other payment option","manage_payments_button_text":"Manage your payments","thank_you_message":"Thank you for supporting the work of Office 365 for IT Pros!","payment_confirmation_title":"Office 365 for IT Pros","receipt_title":"Your Receipt","print_receipt":"Print Receipt","email_receipt":"Email Receipt","email_receipt_sending":"Sending receipt...","email_receipt_success":"Email receipt successfully sent","email_receipt_failed":"Email receipt failed to send. Please try again.","receipt_payee":"Paid to","receipt_statement_descriptor":"This will show up on your statement as","receipt_date":"Date","receipt_transaction_id":"Transaction ID","receipt_transaction_amount":"Amount","refund_payer":"Refund from","login":"Log in to manage your payments","manage_payments":"Manage Payments","transactions_title":"Your Transactions","transaction_title":"Transaction Receipt","transaction_period":"Plan Period","arrangements_title":"Your Plans","arrangement_title":"Manage Plan","arrangement_details":"Plan Details","arrangement_id_title":"Plan ID","arrangement_payment_method_title":"Payment Method","arrangement_amount_title":"Plan Amount","arrangement_renewal_title":"Next renewal date","arrangement_action_cancel":"Cancel Plan","arrangement_action_cant_cancel":"Cancelling is currently not available.","arrangement_action_cancel_double":"Are you sure you'd like to cancel?","arrangement_cancelling":"Cancelling Plan...","arrangement_cancelled":"Plan Cancelled","arrangement_failed_to_cancel":"Failed to cancel plan","back_to_plans":"\u2190 Back to Plans","update_payment_method_verb":"Update","sca_auth_description":"Your have a pending renewal payment which requires authorization.","sca_auth_verb":"Authorize renewal payment","sca_authing_verb":"Authorizing payment","sca_authed_verb":"Payment successfully authorized!","sca_auth_failed":"Unable to authorize! Please try again.","login_button_text":"Log in","login_form_has_an_error":"Please check and fix the errors above","uppercase_search":"Search","lowercase_search":"search","uppercase_page":"Page","lowercase_page":"page","uppercase_items":"Items","lowercase_items":"items","uppercase_per":"Per","lowercase_per":"per","uppercase_of":"Of","lowercase_of":"of","back":"Back to plans","zip_code_placeholder":"Zip\/Postal Code","download_file_button_text":"Download File","input_field_instructions":{"tip_amount":{"placeholder_text":"How much would you like to tip?","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"How much would you like to tip? Choose any currency."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"How much would you like to tip? Choose any currency."},"invalid_curency":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please choose a valid currency."}},"recurring":{"placeholder_text":"Recurring","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"}},"name":{"placeholder_text":"Name on Credit Card","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter the name on your card."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter the name on your card."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please enter the name on your card."}},"privacy_policy":{"terms_title":"Terms and conditions","terms_body":null,"terms_show_text":"View Terms","terms_hide_text":"Hide Terms","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"I agree to the terms."},"unchecked":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please agree to the terms."},"checked":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"I agree to the terms."}},"email":{"placeholder_text":"Your email address","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"not_an_email_address":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Make sure you have entered a valid email address"}},"note_with_tip":{"placeholder_text":"Your note here...","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"empty":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"not_empty_initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"saving":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Saving note..."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Note successfully saved!"},"error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Unable to save note note at this time. Please try again."}},"email_for_login_code":{"placeholder_text":"Your email address","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."}},"login_code":{"initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."}},"stripe_all_in_one":{"initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"success":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"invalid_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is not a valid credit card number."},"invalid_expiry_month":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration month is invalid."},"invalid_expiry_year":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration year is invalid."},"invalid_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is invalid."},"incorrect_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is incorrect."},"incomplete_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is incomplete."},"incomplete_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is incomplete."},"incomplete_expiry":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration date is incomplete."},"incomplete_zip":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's zip code is incomplete."},"expired_card":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card has expired."},"incorrect_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is incorrect."},"incorrect_zip":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's zip code failed validation."},"invalid_expiry_year_past":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration year is in the past"},"card_declined":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card was declined."},"missing":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"There is no card on a customer that is being charged."},"processing_error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"An error occurred while processing the card."},"invalid_request_error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Unable to process this payment, please try again or use alternative method."},"invalid_sofort_country":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The billing country is not accepted by SOFORT. Please try another country."}}}},"fetched_oembed_html":false}
Hi Tony,
Good day.
I tried this script and got below error:
Get-MgUserLicenseDetail : The term ‘Get-MgUserLicenseDetail’ is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try
again.
You haven’t connected to the Microsoft Graph SDK. Did you run Connect-MgGraph?